Frozen Intervention
Among the barren hillsides, a figure stood solemnly. He existed with a strange sense of ecstasy surrounding him; as if he enjoyed the solitude. A slight whistle echoed in the winds, as they picked up and danced around him like flies in the midnight around a white light. The man's name? Few knew it, and those who did, were probably dead. But he was known far and wide, within the depths of darkness, a madness that has frozen in all of time, the insanity regarded as Tōya Santōshi. He appeared to be a skeletal man, no real physically defining features that could be shown underneath his toe-length navy mantle. Aside from this, the man's facial structure was quite sharp; his jawline pronounced through a constant grin, it shifted...he had sensed something, something so perplex that even he could not identify it correctly. He attempted to use his unique breathing method; as a means to lure closer this strange presence that loomed, but he was unsuccessful. The...energy...that was being released was unorthodox, unconventional by the standards of mortals and Shinobi alike. And though he was unsure, Tōya felt something...closer to the grip of death than he could have ever imagined. Glimpses of crimson lashed at the superior of Sorane. “I’ll be taking the first leave then.” It spoke in an unwavering tone that preached of nothingness. The terrific stitched smile never left the mask of the unknown and often referred as he by the recruited members of his organization. He whom is nonexistent in the world of living chanted the words to travel closer to the locked target, the last recruit. He whom is the mysterious creature of the growing threat is renowned as Shihakushi. The heatless, blue flames engulfed around the masked creature that breached through them. He disliked traveling in this manner. But no choice left it had to be done. The thick restless atmosphere darkened as Shihakushi paced forward into the provided shadows. “Sagiso, follow the trails that the insatiable desires of us has left. It will lead you to the recruit.” “We’ve something interesting in our catch, ya know Shiha-kun.” The slim thin creature said as it nestled around the neck of the masked. “He reminded me of yar mask and his desires are… indescribable.” “Then let us see if he can overthrow the spirit that sinks into his mind. It, who can possess a soul like a little doll. Bring me the proof that you can win over your own insanity. If not… your soul will become ours, mine.” His tone of nothingness now filled with excitement. He had found an interesting toy and Shihakushi wouldn’t allow any failure in the first test. Trial One: Desires In a moment, Tōya felt an exhilarating sensation. What it was, he did not know, but it was there. Suddenly, a throbbing was felt within his mind, not a painful throbbing...but an inquisitive one, perhaps? It was tugging at the locks of his minds, trying to pull them open, or silently weave through them. Yet Tōya stood calmly, and then a whisper threaded the recesses of his mind with a web of questions. "What is your desire, mad one?" It asked him, Tōya kept silent, "What ambitions do you pursue?", it relentlessly pushed deeper into his thoughts, "Carnage, perhaps?" Beginning its shift into that of a pleading victim, "Bloodshed? Fame? Glory? Answer me...please...?" Yet within this onslaught, Tōya stood silent among it all. His answer was clear, but it wasn't within himself, nothing remained within him. Just a bunch of locked, unused, empty rooms known as the mind. There were figments, surely, but not enough to describe what the dream of this madness was...a strange dream, or more fittingly, ambition, it was. "If you exist within me, then shouldn't you know the answer? Or have you forgotten so much about yourself that you resort to me? Heh, what foolishness." It cackled with madness at the wordage of the victim. “He whom is in a strange dream that cannot be described and thinks it is an ambition? Your mind is filled with your own lies that you cannot see past them. You’re a madman.” The spiritual being snaked around Tōya. “I’m formless and I become what you want me to become. But in return you’ve become mine.” It snickered madly as it twisted around and blinked in front of the man. I’ll still be kind and nicely ask what your desires are.” Eyes of emptiness bore into those of Tōya. Breath clashed into the face of the victim, smell of death. Blood began to seep around the body of the being. “My beloved son why did you kill, kill us?” "You believe you have possessed me?" Tōya grinned once again, the challenge this foe pitted against him was truly remarkable. "I am filled with lies." He chuckled, "And that is what makes it impossible to possess me." At the moment he could smell blood, no, death, Tōya closed his already obscured eyes. "Why did I kill you, you ask?" He contemplated briefly, his thoughts enclosed so strangely that none could follow them. "Silence..." Tōya's voice echoed among the winds that strangely picked up upon this revelation. "Silence is the perfect word to describe what I was looking for. This is why my thoughts were figments for so long. I could never find a word. Thank you, benevolent spirit, you have personally returned my ambition to me." Tōya laughed inwardly, the farce he was making astounded him more than it could shock anything else. "Sadly, sadly, there you are wrong. If I did not possess you where would I have gone?" It snickered as its bloodied hand caressed the cheek of the madman. The trail of blood clasped against his skin as the woman backed her hand away. "You are still mine and will always be. Unless you have what it takes to overwhelm me." The words rhyming meaning that the decision was coming to an end. "Isn't that a challenge, dear Tōkyō-kun?" Her pearl white teeth scarred the shadows away with her mischievous laughter. "A challenge to desire power that one should not possess. But of course I won't tell the rules that you should know. Where's the fun in that?" "Let's flip the tables here, Miss." Tōya snickered, before he continued. "If you do not mind...please do enlighten what you mean by 'power'? Oh no, actually. That is far too simple of a question. Let me grab you at the heart of your existence. Explain to me...this concept known as 'desire', please?" Tōya sounded like he was pleading for an answer, and yet his face told something else entirely. This was an interrogation, an interrogation to define one's very existence. The trapped victim, Tōya, was close at solving the meaning of this interrogation. "What would an existence be without greed or desires." The woman twisted her body into a circle, her laughter barking in the nothingness whereas they were now. "Many have failed to answer and their souls have been captured. They lied about the desire but perhaps you know the answer?" She answered flatly. "Because in your answer lies my existence." Tōya had no desire to contemplate any further, and spat out the word that he knew above all else, "Emptiness." Tōya's face cracked his smile slightly...turning into a completely neutral expression. "Without an avarice, without a desire to continue forward, we simply cease to exist." Tōya reverted to his grin, "Just as you will upon hearing my answer...isn't that right, spirit of greed?" Tōya adjusted his cloak slightly, muttering, "Have I broken your foolish cycle, self-devouring snake?" She applauded him for his victory, almost victory. "You've passed. But you were wrong that I wo–." Abruptly the woman deformed into its slim celestical form that dashed away from Tōya as the landscape cleared back to the realistic world. "It seems that my master no longer requires my aid. We will meet soon again, Tokyō-kun." Its dark whispering voice echoed before it vanished from sight. Instead a silhouette stood a few good feet away from Tōya. The cloak wavered softly as the wind brushed against it, the face of the persona hidden, by the shadows. "I'm not surprised," the mysterious person began, the voice thickly disoriented and unrecognizable. "You've passed the trial which is what I had expected from you, Tōkyo-kun, I mean Tōya." "A trial?" Tōya inquired, snickering at the prospect of being a..."chosen one" as some liked to refer themselves as. He appeared rather cheerful, ironic considering the questions that he was posed with prior to this. "So...that spirit was yours then? Silhouette-san?"